A Twist of Fate
by Symphonic Madness
Summary: What if Zuko had sided with the Avatar in the crystal catacombs when faced with that decision? Rated M for later chapters. Zutara fluff with lemons where they fit best and a side of Tokka and a single Aang. Collaboration of Symphonic Madness and nksnow.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, friends! Symphonic Madness and nksnow here! So this is kind of a "what if" kind of scenario in this fanfic. Aang was never struck by Azula's lightning. This scenario changes pretty much everything leading up to, during, and after the invasion. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we loved writing it!**

**-Symphonic Madness & nksnow**

* * *

_Zuko_

I have a choice. I can go with Azula, and gain my father's love and respect back, or I can go with the Avatar. I think about what each choice could mean. If I join Azula, I can gain my honor back. If I join the Avatar, I will have no honor in my father's eyes. _But it's right. My father has never been a father. Uncle Iroh has been more of a father than my own father ever was_, I think to myself. I think of the waterbender… what was her name again? Katara? That's it. That's her name. I think of her. I think of how she opened up to me about her mother. I think about how she touched my scar, and I didn't pull away. She even offered to heal it. I realize then that for some reason, I don't think I can betray her.

I feel my heart beat at a rapid pace as I shoot a ball of fire at Azula, which she effectively dodges. I look at my uncle, who smiles at me before readying himself for my sister's wrath. Katara looks shocked, but then does the same as my uncle.

"You've made your choice, Zuzu," Azula says. "I guess you'll never regain your honor."

"I will. But not by joining that bastard of a father we have!" I retort.

"That is the Fire Lord!" Azula says. "He may not be _your_ father, but he sure as hell is mine!"

She sends a roundhouse kick of blue fire at us. Katara sends a wave of water and both elements turn to steam. But Azula is quick to retaliate. She sends a blast of fire at Katara. She gets out of the way, but not fast enough, because soon, she is clutching her arm as she trips and falls to the ground. She screams in pain, and I wince.

"Zuko, get Katara out of here. The Avatar, Toph, and I will handle this," Uncle Iroh says.

"But…" I try to protest but he cuts me off.

"Go! Now! She won't have time to heal herself here. Take her and run!" Iroh commands.

I run over to Katara, having to dodge yet another blast of fire as Azula cackles like a madwoman. I roll on the ground and get up just before I reach Katara. I lift the sobbing girl into my arms and she attempts to wrap her arms around my neck, being unsuccessful, seeing as her upper arm is badly burned. I run. I run as fast as I can through the opening that I'm guessing Toph had made to find us. I run through it until I'm finally able to get out. That's when I'm making a mad dash through the city. When I get into a highly populated area, I call for help.

"Help! This woman is hurt! Someone help!" I shout.

"Take her to the infirmary! It's just a block from here in this direction," a man says, pointing to the right.

"Thank you!" I say.

I'm starting to become out of breath, but I don't care. When I get to the makeshift hospital, I call for help, and people I assume are healers come right away to take us into a room.

"You know I could've healed myself," Katara says, speaking to me for the first time since we were in the caves together.

"Not really," I say. "Azula burned your arm. The doctors will just patch it up. You can finish healing it later."

"Zuko?" Katara asks me.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. I really see the good in you," she says.

A small team of doctors come in and begin bandaging her wound immediately. It doesn't take them long. They give Katara a concoction of various herbs to take away the pain. Once her face relaxes, and the pain subsides, they give us a few bottles of the stuff.

"Take it as needed. You shouldn't need that much. The burn was severe, but not severe enough to need a ton of attention," one of them says. "What happened, anyway?"

"Cooking incident," I quickly say.

Katara nods, going along with it. "I was lighting a fire to make tea, and I guess I was too close to it."

"Be more careful next time," he says. "Wouldn't want to see you back in here again."

"How much will this cost?" I ask.

"Nothing. For unintentional injuries, services are free."

"Thank you," I say. "Katara, can you walk?"

She gets up off of the cot and looks at me with a raised eyebrow and a smile daring me to say she can't.

"I take that as a yes," I say. "Let's go find the others," I tell her when we exit the infirmary.

"Yeah," Katara says. "Thank you, again, Zuko. I didn't think you had it in you."

"I didn't think I did, either," I admit. "And you're welcome."

She stops, and I stop as well. She then turns to me, and hugs me tightly. I hug her back, not knowing what else to do. She feels so warm and just… perfect in my arms. I bury my head into her hair; the hug lasting longer than I originally, thought. Katara, seeming reluctant about it, pulls away and looks at me.

"So what are you going to do now? You've turned against Azula. That was pretty much the only opportunity you had to redeem yourself in your father's eyes," Katara says.

"If you don't mind, I would like for my uncle and I to be able to join your group," I tell her. "We can teach Aang firebending."

"Listen, Zuko. I trust you. Seeing as you haven't yet killed me, I think you deserve at least some trust. I think they can give you that." She smiles, and I return the smile with an even bigger one, and a hug.

"Let's try and find them," I say.

Eventually, after walking in the direction I came, we see Sokka.

"Katara!" Sokka shouts. "Are you okay? I heard about what happened and…" he looks at me and readies himself for a nonexistent attack. "What is he doing here?"

"Relax, Sokka," Katara says. "He's on our side. Didn't Aang and Toph tell you? And isn't Iroh with you?"

"Yeah. Iroh is with us. They just left out the part about Zuko joining us," Sokka says. "How can we trust you?"

"I took Katara to the hospital to heal her arm," I say. "And I attacked Azula instead of Aang. That should count for something."

"Yes. It should. He carried me all the way there. I think that's worth at least some respect," Katara says.

Sokka sighs. "Katara, I respect you and your opinions. And I'll let him join us. But I still reserve judgment."

Katara hugs her brother. "Where are the others?"

"Looking for you. We split up. They went that way," he says, pointing behind him.

Katara takes my hand and tugs on it. "Let's go! We need to get out of here before Azula can cause a scene."

Sokka shoots me a glare and follows us as Katara pulls me along. Eventually, we meet up with my uncle.

"Nephew! I was so afraid for you." He hugs me tightly.

"I was afraid for you, too, Uncle," I say.

"Aang and Toph aren't far away," Uncle Iroh says. "They told us to find them when we are reunited again."

We go on a search for Aang and Toph, and find them in a secluded area a short walk away from the marketplace with the sky bison and the lemur trailing behind them.

"Katara!" Aang exclaims.

He runs and hugs her. She lets go of my hand and hugs him back. I pretend not to feel the empty space in my hand where hers used to occupy. But after she hugs Aang, Katara does something I didn't think she'd do. She takes my hand again and intertwines her fingers with mine.

I can tell Aang is pretending not to notice. He winces, but recovers quickly.

"Zuko, Iroh, I'm trusting you," Sokka says. "Don't betray that trust."

"We won't," my uncle says. "We plan on teaching the Avatar firebending."

"Thank you," Aang says. "Let's go. I know a place we can go where we'll be safe from Azula and the Dai Li. Come on, everyone."

He hops onto the bison, and we all do the same. I get on, then help Katara do the same. She accidentally lands on top of me, and a furious blush stains her copper skin. I have a faint blush on my face as well as she gets up off of me. I sit up, and smile at her. She returns the smile.

"So where are we going?" Toph asks.

"The Western Air Temple," Aang says. "It's pretty well hidden. It should give me time to learn at least some of my lesser known elements. Like earth and fire."

"Hey, I wouldn't be so confident about water. I can still whoop you in a sparring match anytime," Katara says.

I chuckle, and all eyes are on me. I look away nervously. And as we fly through the air into the night, I can't seem to get the waterbending master off of my mind. One thing is for sure, though. I can't get enough of her. She's using my arm as a pillow. I don't even remember how she got there. But she rolls over and nuzzles her head into my chest. She sighs contentedly, and with that, I doze off into sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! Love goes out to all who read/review/favorite/follow! This is going to be a bit of a long chapter. Just gonna put that out there. But there will be a small lemon for you perverts that I love so much.**

**P.S. We think we're just gonna forgo the invasion. Call us crazy, or just plain stupid, but we don't know how that would work with Zuko on their side. And with the way things are going in this story, we don't think that it is too big of a plot element (we think that's what it is) to include within it. Love you all, once again.**

**-nksnow & Symphonic Madness**

_Katara_

I wake up curled up to the person I least expected to be curled up to: Zuko. I don't know what it is about him. Ever since he opened up to me about his mother, I've just felt this connection with him. Then, when he carried me all the way to the hospital, I felt even closer to him. He doesn't seem to mind, thankfully.

Zuko wakes a moment or so later. We look at each other, and suddenly things are awkward. We mumble apologies and Iroh looks at us with a knowing smile.

"I need to talk to you alone when we land," I whisper in Zuko's ear.

"Okay," he says. "What about?"

"A lot of things. But not right now. Later."

"Guys, wake up," I hear Aang call from up front.

"We're already awake," Sokka replies.

"Oh, well, Appa is getting tired. We need to land," Aang says.

We do as he originally planned, and we begin the trek to the Western Air Temple. We'd been walking for quite a while when Toph speaks up.

"Wait! Somebody's coming," she says. "A lot of somebodies."

We ready ourselves in our fighting stances and wait for whoever Toph said was coming to do so. But suddenly, I feel something solid hit the back of my head. Then I'm being lifted up and thrown. I hear an explosion as a body lands on top of me and rolls me over so that he is on top of me. I recognize the familiar body as Zuko. He gets up off of me and begins to fight; shooting blasts of fire into the smoke.

But suddenly, in all the commotion and smoke, I'm struck in the back of my head and knocked unconscious.

_Zuko_

I'm fighting. I'm fighting with fire and the martial arts I've come to learn. I manage to beat a few soldiers, but not before I'm whacked in the head. Everything goes black, and I fight to keep myself from going unconscious, but to no avail. I collapse on the ground close by Katara, who I noticed earlier had suffered a head injury herself.

I wake up in a dark room; barely lit by a dim lantern hanging from the ceiling. I try to get up and out of my sitting position, and surprisingly enough, my head doesn't hurt in the process. I'm also not shackled. I create a flame in my hand and look around the room. I see a body move and I get into a fighting stance; ready to attack should whoever's in here decide to attack me.

"Who's there?" I ask.

The person, who I now realize is lying down, groans.

"Katara?"

She groans again, and I extinguish the flame in my hand before rushing over to her. I turn her over so is on her back. She isn't shackled. She sits up and rubs circles into her temples with her fingers.

"Zuko?" she says. "Is that you?"

"Yes," I say. "It's me."

"Where are we? It feels like we're rocking. Or is that just my head?" Katara asks.

"I feel it, but only slightly. You looked like you hit your head pretty hard," I say.

She tries to stand and ends up falling into me. She has a faint blush on her face.

"Sorry," she mumbles.

"No need to be," I say. "Come on. Let's sit down."

We sit against the wall of the cell; Katara's head on my chest and my arms around her. I sigh against her head.

"What did you want to talk to me about in private?" I ask.

I look down at her and see that she's blushing. "I've got a confession to make."

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing. It's stupid," Katara says.

"Nothing you say is stupid, Katara," I say, making sure to look her in the eyes. "It never has been."

"I feel… connected to you. Since you opened up to me, and since you carried me to the infirmary, I haven't been able to stay away from you," she says.

"Wow," I say, with lack of a better word.

"See? I told you it was stupid," she says breaking eye contact with me to look away shyly.

"I thought I told you nothing you say is stupid," I say with an amused smile. "It's not like I mind the attention you're giving me anyway."

"Good. I didn't plan on stopping," she says with a small smile at me. "There's just something about you that tells me that despite all you've done, there is good in you."

"That's because there is, Katara. I thought my destiny was to find and capture the Avatar to appease my father. But now I realize it is to join Aang, you, and the rest of your group to fight against him," I say.

"Well, you've got to know their names, first of all," she says with a laugh. "The girl in green is Toph, and the one in blue is my brother, Sokka."

"I knew he had some relation to you. With the way you two look alike and all," I say.

Katara shudders. "Don't remind me."

We're silent but for a second or two, and then we're busting out laughing. I haven't laughed since… I shake my head of the thought.

"I've never heard you laugh," she says. "It's… interesting. But not at all a bad thing. I'd like to see more of it."

I smile, but then she gets a mischievous look in her eyes. She grins and all of a sudden, I'm on the floor. Katara straddles me. I hold back a groan. She begins tickling me, and I can't hold back my laughter as she tickles me senseless.

"Katara… stop… it…" I stammer in my laughter.

When she doesn't relent, I form an idea. I grab her wrists, wondering why I didn't do that earlier. I look at her with a devilish grin on my face and begin giving her the same treatment she gave me.

"So you're ticklish, too?" I tease. "Perfect."

I begin tickling her, and she's giggling and laughing and I could've sworn I heard a surprisingly attractive snort somewhere in the mix. I tickle her until she looks at me with a serious expression on her face. It's then I realize the position we're in. It's a very intimate position, and suddenly, I feel myself try to sit up and lean against the wall; still trying to keep the waterbender on my lap. She laces her hands in my hair, and moans as my breath tickles her neck.

She puts her forehead to mine, looks deep in my eyes, and kisses me. I kiss her back, wanting it just as bad as she does. Whatever "it" is, I have to have more of it. My fingers are in her hair as I pull her closer. She squirms on top of me, and I struggle to keep myself from going hard beneath her. I break the kiss, and she tries to go back in for more, but I stop her.

"I want to keep at least some of my self-control," I say. "I don't want to do this right now. We barely know each other."

"You're right," Katara says.

There's a moment of awkward silence as she crawls off of my lap and sits beside me. Eventually, though, she speaks up.

"They didn't confiscate my canteen," Katara says. "Let me check if it still has water in it."

Just as she opens her pack, we hear a banging, and then a tray of food is tossed at us from a small opening in the door. There are two bowls of rice, two sets of chopsticks, and two cups of water. Katara, unfazed, opens her pack and bends the few drops of water left. She then takes the water from one of the cups and bends it into her pack.

"I'm leaving some of the water for us to drink. One more cup of it, and we should be good to fight," Katara says.

"Well, we need to keep our strength up until then. Come on. Let's eat," I say.

Shortly after we finish eating, a masked guard comes in and takes the empty bowls and cups away. We're left alone once again, and Katara and I begin to talk. We talk for what feels like hours. I tell her about my mother, which is something I never thought I'd do with Katara. She listens, and when tears start to run down my face, she takes me into her arms and hugs me. She lets me tell her all the fun memories I had with the woman, and she reminisces about her life growing up. She talks about the day her mother died, and I let her cry it out when she gets to the part where she finds her lifeless body. I comfort her and kiss her head as she gets it out.

By the time the next meal comes around, we'd been talking, crying, and laughing to various stories we've told one another for so long it's like we're old friends. We eat, and Katara bends the water from one of the cups and fills her canteen completely.

She curls up against me and I wrap my arms around her as she nuzzles into my chest for warmth. I smile when she sighs; clearly in a state of bliss similar to that of the one I'm in. I kiss Katara's hair before resting my cheek on it and falling asleep.

_Katara_

We're both woken up suddenly by a banging noise, and then our door opens and a tray of food is shoved inside of our cell. Zuko and I, unfortunately, are too disoriented by our rude awakening to try and make our escape, though.

"Damn it!" Zuko curses. "We should have made our escape! We shouldn't have fallen asleep!"

"Hey," I say, trying to calm him down. "We need our rest. If we're gonna get out of here, we need as much energy and strength as possible."

He sighs. "You're right. Let's eat."

We begin eating, and I start the conversation again with a question. "So what convinced you to join our side? I know it wasn't just your newfound knowledge of your destiny."

Zuko blushes, something I never thought he would do. "It was pretty much just that."

"I know you're lying," I say challengingly. "It was something else."

He sets the rice down on the tray and gets ready for an argument. "Nope. It was just that."

I set the rice down and before he can protest I'm straddling him and tickling him senseless. "Come on! Tell me or I won't stop!"

"Never!" Zuko says through his laughter.

"Have it your way then," I say with a shrug.

I tickle him and egg him on more and more until finally he tells me. "It's you, okay?! It's you who I decided to switch sides for!"

That stops me dead in my tracks. "What?"

"It's you," Zuko says. "It's you who convinced me somehow to abandon all I've ever known to join the Avatar and fight against my father."

"Why me?" is all I can say.

"There was always something about you. I could never kill you. Even when hunting down and killing the Avatar was my sole purpose. But when you touched my scar, I knew that it was more than that. I realized how beautiful and intelligent and kind you are," he admits. "But I've seen how he looks at you."

"Who?" I ask.

"The Avatar. Aang," Zuko tells me. "He loves you. I know it. But I know also that you must feel something for him. The way you look back at him tells a story I wish weren't true."

"Zuko," I say. "I feel something for him. But not what you think. I feel like a mother to him. I feel like a mother to Sokka and Toph as well. I know he wants something more, but he isn't my destiny. That I'm sure of."

"Who is your destiny, then?" Zuko asks me as our faces come closer somehow.

"I think I have an idea," I murmur just before our lips collide.

We kiss, and it's slow and passionate. I lick his bottom lip, and he welcomes my intruding tongue into his mouth with a moan. I fist my hands his hair and he flips us over. I don't protest like I normally would because it feels that _good_. I smile, but it turns into a breathy moan as his hand trails down from my hair to cup my right breast.

"Are you okay with this?" Zuko murmurs against my lips as he gently kneads the clothed flesh of my breast.

"Spirits, yes!" I gasp. "The only time I won't be okay with this is when and if you stop!"

He grins and goes back at it. I writhe against him and he lets out a deep groan of pleasure at my movement. We grind up against each other and soon enough, we're gasping and moaning as his hardness digs into me. He reaches underneath my dress and my underbindings and plays with my wet, hot heat and I come almost instantly. The sound of it sends him over the edge as well, and we silence each other's screams with a kiss.

We are panting, smiling, sweating messes as we get into a chaste position. But suddenly we hear shouting, and banging. The door bursts open and in comes Toph with her hand on the metal door. She throws it to the side of the cell.

"Come on, lovebirds! We're getting you out of here!" she shouts.

Zuko takes my hand and we dash out of the cell. We're on an airship. Azula doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight as the fighting progresses. Zuko, Toph, Aang, Sokka, Iroh, and I are all fighting our hardest and soon enough, we're making our escape on Appa.

Aang hugs me. "I'm so glad you're okay, Katara. Same goes to you, Zuko."

He glares at our hands and I blush.

"So where are we going now?" I ask.

"We're heading into the Fire Nation. We'll wait out there until the comet," Sokka says. "Aang and Katara, bend a cloud around us when we get close. We're gonna need the cover."

"Alright," Zuko says. "We're gonna have to hide out somewhere, though. It's not like we can just waltz in."

"Agreed," Aang says, breaking his stare on our entwined hands. "We'll need disguises."

"We'll find them when we get there," Iroh says. "But for now, let's focus on getting there safely."

"Yes," Zuko says. "Let's do that, and we'll sort everything out when we get there."

We fall into comfortable silence; with the occasional quiet conversation between Zuko and Iroh, or Zuko and I.

**Nksnow and I would like to thank you for reading this chapter. We both greatly appreciate your support.**

**-Symphonic Madness and nksnow**


	3. Chapter 3

**So sorry for the late update! I got my original computer back after not having it for a couple of weeks, and have started using this one more than my previous one. Seeing as the previous one belonged to my mother. I downloaded the document onto this computer, though. That's how I am able to work on this. Thanks for your gracious patience. I know this is a collab. This is Symphonic Madness speaking. I'm the one writing the chapters, and nksnow and I bounce ideas off of one another. That's why I'm giving her half credit. You wouldn't have this story without the two women behind it (nksnow and I) haha.**

**-nksnow & Symphonic Madness**

_Katara_

That night, Zuko and I sleep against one another once again. I know Aang is upset, but I pretend not to notice. I instead focus on Zuko's breathing as he sleeps, and it in turn lulls me to sleep.

I wake up to the sound of Aang's voice.

"We're in the Fire Nation, guys," he says. "Katara, help me bend the clouds so we can be covered."

I groggily get up, momentarily losing my balance. I stumble a bit and my hand lands on Zuko's chest. He grunts in his sleep as I push off of him and into a standing position. I begin to bend the clouds with Aang; creating a shield for us. We bend the clouds, though, so they don't cover Appa's face and obscure our line of vision. Shortly afterward, we land nearby a small cliff. There is a cave at its base. I briefly wonder if it will be large enough to hold all of us. But then we get closer and I see that there is more than enough room for us all.

We land, and Aang announces that we've arrived. Sokka, Iroh, and Toph all saunter out of Appa; Sokka helping Toph dismount the bison. She clumsily falls into his arms and blushes; Sokka holding her a bit longer than necessary. I smile at the encounter and Zuko takes my hand before we all follow Aang into the cave.

"I guess this is where we'll be staying until the comet." He sighs, and shrugs his shoulders. "I saw a city nearby. So we have to stay hidden."

"We're going to need disguises," Zuko says. "I saw a house not too far from here with some clothes hanging up. We could steal some."

"Normally, I'm not okay with stealing. But if it's crucial to our survival, I think we should do it," I say.

"Never thought I'd be saying this. Being the Avatar and all, but I think that they're right," Aang says.

Iroh, Toph, and Sokka all nod. We then silently make our way to the bushes surrounding the house. We each run and take whatever clothes we like, and make our escape before anyone notices our presence. We then go our separate ways to change.

_Zuko_

I come back shortly after changing into a simple red tunic, pants, and boots. The other male members of the group finish just as quickly as I do. We are all dressed in simple, varying shades of red, black, and gold. Aang has a hat and headband to cover his arrow. Toph gets done shortly after Aang, who was the last of the guys to get dressed.

"I took the soles out of the shoes I'm wearing so I can see," Toph says. "Good idea? Bad idea?"

"I'd say it's a good idea. You look good Toph," Sokka says.

"Thanks. Good to know considering I can't see what I look like," she says.

We all chuckle a bit, and Sokka asks what's in my hands.

"There were some blankets hanging up. I stole a couple for my uncle and I. There were plenty left for whoever lives in that house, though. I'm pretty sure," I say.

Katara comes in, unintentionally interrupting the conversation. "Am I interrupting something? I just wanted to know how I look."

She's wearing a top that goes down just an inch or two below her breasts, and a skirt with baggy pants underneath. Her stomach and waist are visible. Her dark hair is down, save for a customary topknot. She also has a pair of sandals on. She is stunning.

"You look… great," Aang says awkwardly as he blushes.

"Yeah, Katara. You really do," I say. "But you're wearing your mother's necklace. You're gonna have to take it off and hide it. People will get suspicious."

Katara sighs. "You're right."

She takes it off, and almost looks like a different person without it. She tucks it away in a pocket of the skirt she's wearing, and sighs again, feeling the empty space where the necklace that was so precious to her once occupied.

"Good idea, Zuko. Stealing those blankets was a wise choice. But what are we going to do for tents?" Katara asks. "Toph makes her own, Aang sleeps on Appa, and Sokka and I brought tents of our own from home."

"I guess we'll either have to share, or Uncle and I will just go without," I say. "We do have blankets, after all. And plus, we can make our own heat, being firebenders and all."

"Yeah, so I don't think that should be much of a problem if we don't share," Sokka says.

His attempt at keeping Katara and I apart was painfully obvious. Aang was probably a-okay with it.

"Well, let's set up camp and search for food. None of us have Fire Nation money. My uncle and I haven't been to the Fire Nation since my banishment, so obviously we can't help you," I say with a shrug. "Sorry."

"It's not a problem, Zuko," Aang says. "Wait! Everyone check your pockets. There might just be some coins in them."

We all dig through our pockets. In total, we come to the total of fifteenteen gold pieces and three copper pieces. _The family we stole from must have been fairly well off_, I think to myself.

"Alright. Let's split up. Since there are six of us, half of us should stay and set up camp, and half of us should take the money and buy food. We need to spend more money on nonperishable food than supplies so that we can stay hidden better, and not have to keep going back into town," Toph says, surprising us with the authority in her voice. "Someone should go with Iroh and Zuko to find food. I vote Katara should. She is smart in her decisions. She'll know what kinds of food to get."

"Thank you, Toph. I would love to," Katara says.

Toph gives Katara a wink that if Aang and Sokka don't see it, they don't have a reaction to it. My uncle and I see it, though, and my uncle smiles at me.

"We had best be going," he says. "We need to buy enough food to last us for awhile. But it's not like fifteen gold pieces won't buy enough food to feed six of us for at least a couple of weeks if we buy the right foods."

"Agreed," I say. "Come on, Katara. I think I know where the town is. I saw it, too, while we were in the air."

Everyone hands Katara the money and she pockets it. Iroh, her, and I then say goodbye to everyone before leaving the cave and starting the trek along the beach; hoping, along the way, we'll find the town. The island isn't that large, so it will be fairly easy to find.

"So, Katara, my nephew told me ages ago that you are a master waterbender," Uncle says.

"I am," Katara says. "I'm still learning, though."

"You can learn more about anything. Even if you think you're So do you think the Avatar has mastered the element yet?" he asks.

"Almost," she says. "But Toph has had a monopoly over his time. I hope the two of you can convince her somehow to let him learn fire."

Iroh chuckles. "I hope so. I met the girl before this. She's strong, but she has the capacity relent."

"It's not gonna be easy, though. That's for sure," Katara replies.

"Nothing good in life comes easy, Katara. Why do you think the Fire Nation has brought fear into the hearts of so many people for so long?" Uncle asks.

"True."

We keep walking and Iroh and Katara continue their discussion while I walk in silence. After a few minutes, though, I see a house, then another, and then another.

"I think we're getting close," I say.

"I think we are, too," Katara says. "Look! I see a marketplace!"

"I see it, too," my uncle says.

We walk to the marketplace and find a food stand almost instantly. We spend most of the money on food, but leave enough to buy tents and various other necessities.

We walk back to the cave that we will call home until the comet, and eat some of the food we bought that night.


	4. Sorry, But It's an Author's Note

**So, first off, I would like to tell you I'm sorry that this is an author's note. But this author's note is an important one. I wanted to let you know that in honor of the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I will not be posting the lemon I was to originally post soon. It will be posted one to three days later. I just wanted to give the 3,000+ victims a little respect. And I don't think that publishing a lemon on a public fanfiction site on the day of the attacks would be very respectful. But the lemon is on its way. This is a decision I made. I did this without nksnow's consultation, but I doubt she would mind.**

**I wanted to give my respects to the fallen firefighters who went in to help the victims of 9/11, and also to the ones that either died later from asbestos-related ailments, or are still alive to this day. You have my respect and admiration. I also wanted to give my respect and admiration to the victims themselves. They deserve it. Happy Firefighter Day, everyone. God Bless.**


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